What a great video. It was a bit glitchy downloading it, so I turned off the sound and came back here while it downloaded, then watched in smoothly.

All those bents I'm guessing the photographer was biased

Interesting to see so many faired bents. Love the one with the lights built into the nose. The bloke in the fully enclosed bent must have enjoyed the rain.

See the bloke stretched on his bent, both feel fully forward while coasting? He looked like he could go to sleep

The interesting thing was all the tandems. Regardless of how good your relationship with the other person is, at some point during a ride like that, you are going to be really tired and really sore and really grumpy and the potential for a stupid argument would be rather high.

europa wrote:See the bloke stretched on his bent, both feel fully forward while coasting? He looked like he could go to sleep

Check him out really carefully - about 10 seconds later you see him use both legs to drive the power stroke! He has some sort of liner drive system which requires both legs to push the pedals at the same time. His was one of the "weird designs" I was referring to. I wish we had seen more of his bike.

The rain caused a large DNF rate this year. The fully faired bents faired fairly well, if you'll excuse the alliteration.

Cheers,
Graeme

Think outside the double triangle.---------------------Music was better when ugly people were allowed to make it ....

europa wrote:See the bloke stretched on his bent, both feel fully forward while coasting? He looked like he could go to sleep

Check him out really carefully - about 10 seconds later you see him use both legs to drive the power stroke! He has some sort of liner drive system which requires both legs to push the pedals at the same time. His was one of the "weird designs" I was referring to. I wish we had seen more of his bike.

Ahh, I thought he'd unclipped one foot and was resting it on the frame.

Aushiker wrote:I think the thought police here at work might not like that

Didn't they just hire a 13 year old?

Richard

Now I could pretend I got that one, but being a village idiot I will admit to it going straight to the keeper. With all that I suspect I have killed the punch line which is a pity as I suspect it was a very witty response.

"Well, it's a rainy night in Paris,
And I'm sitting by the Seine,
It's a pleasure to be soaking in the European rain"
Billy Joel

I'm sure he means one of those sidewalk cafes. With the umbrellas over the tables. And probably best not to do 90 hours straight.

For the 90 hours of PBP 2007 it drizzled or rained much more of the time than not. The unofficial report is that 30% of the 5300 riders abandoned. Then there were us stubborn ones.

Monday night it started to drizzle just as hundreds of us "special" cycles started (AT) 9pm Somebody fell over RIGHT in front of me within the first 50 yards, and I barely stopped inches short. An ominous beginning. The crowd was huge and raucous. As we got out of town we settled into a good quick pace. About 50 miles out we caught 3 of the biggest pacelines I've ever seen. These were the "80 hour" riders who started an hour before us. Story is a couple of German hammerheads took them on a 22 mile bonus tour. A handful of us speedy bents (it was relatively flat early on) squeezed by these pacelines on the left shoulder of the road. At about 70 miles I took a wet corner in the dark too fast and was rewarded with a little road rash on my left hip and bent handlebars. The miles flew by. Morning came and went. Midafternoon Tuesday the drizzle and light rain turned to a harder, cold rain. As I approached Loudeac (AT) 441km I evaluated my situation and plans; 36 hours w/ no sleep. 22 hours riding. Soaking wet. But still in good spirits. Darkness again in a couple of hours. I went to turn my taillight back on only to find it dead. No worries, I have a back up. But its waterlogged too. (Cateye isn't currently on my preferred vendor list) So, 7pm I stop (AT) Loudeac. Dinner, shower, and into a cot in the dorm just after 8 and sound asleep by 8:30. Up again (AT) 2 and on the bike by 3, w/ good breakfast.(I dried out one taillight). Still cold rain. But, by mid morning it cleared and we had the best 6-8 hours of weather the entire ride. Brest in the sunshine was spectacular. A buddy and I played hammertime for about 10 miles sprinting out of every corner, drafting each other (AT) 25-30mph, ecstatic about the improved conditions and just enjoying riding. But, by dinnertime the rain started again. By the time I returned to Loudeac about 10:30pm I was mildly hypothermic and tired. I changed into my last set of dry clothes, had a good dinner and slept until about 3am. I watched somebody sleeping at breakfast fall off his chair onto the floor - luckily not hurt. Back on the bike by 4am. Thursday started the real grind. I had been riding hard but then hiding from the rain in the controls and at roadside cafes. But this had to stop. I only slept a couple of short stretches until the finish midday Friday. It rained most of the day. As long as I pedaled I was warm, but downhills were cold. Rumor had it over 1,000 abandoned already. The rumored better weather never came. I was OK, not really enjoying the ride but not miserable. At least not during daylight. After dark I concluded that riding in the dark is OK. Riding in the rain is OK. Riding in the dark in the rain really sucks. Visibility is awful. Thursday night was surreal. Red lights fore, white lights aft, as far as you can see. Riders weaving wildly. Riders stopped in the middle of the road, slouched over their handlebars, comatose. Riders lying on the edge of the road in the cold rain; without cover. Riders answering nature's call barely off the road. Riders vomiting as you pass by. It was freakish. By 2 am I reached Mortagne feeling like I just watched a bad sci fi movie. I slept for an hour on the cold hard noisy cafeteria floor in my soggy wet clothes. Back out in the rain at 3. About 6am I had an irresistible urge to sleep. My seat pad in the mud by the edge of the road and space blanket offered a wonderful hour nap. Feeling much better, I hit Dreux about 9 am. The sun broke through, I saw fellow Alaskans, took celebratory photos, laughed, and hopped back on the bike for the last 60km. About 30 km out I came on an 65ish rider the apparently just fell over and whacked his head. Blood ran down his forehead. PLEASE WEAR A HELMUT. Plenty of people were helping so dozens of us proceeded. some nice flat roads gave one last hammertime opportunity; to the hoots and hollers of hundreds of cyclists as I flew on by. Having removed my raincoat back in Dreux, sure enough one last cold hard rain doused me about 10km from the finish. God bless it. The enormous, wildly cheering crowd at the finish did wonders for my spirits. In the end I did a pretty good job getting my money's worth; I only left a little over an hour on the table. (my trispoke and disc wheels can be slow to change tubes/tires - w/only a Roadmorph pump, so I didn't want to cut it too close).

I took darned few photos; unwilling to take my camera out of its ziplock bag in the rain. I found myself repeatedly angry that I couldn't stop in the cute little villages, attempt to converse w/ the locals, or photograph their beautiful churches and other buildings. The crowds at every control - no matter what time of day - were exhilarating. I ate like a horse at every control. Big plates of pasta, mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken, ham, lots of baguettes. I drank a small bottle of Bordeaux each night w/ dinner in Loudeac, just to ensure restful sleep. And I still need to stop about once between controls for cafe au lait and chocolat au pan, or my favorite "Religieuse" which is a chocolate creme filled doughnut with a cream puff on top! MmmM good. Plus an entire case of Gu and a dozen Shot Blocks when I needed a lift on the road. And 1 1/2 bottles of Endurolytes. I still lost weight.

The old timers are debating whether '07 beat '87 for the worst weather. What a badge of honor.
My rear shifter cable gunked so bad I had to reach back and "spring" the cage in order to move to a smaller cog (not recommended if you're running a spoked wheel). Thank heavens I packed fenders.

The ride was hillier than I expected. Lots of long, granny gear climbs, followed by nerve-racking descents in the dark wet night. My altimeter registered 38,6xx'

I rode some with David ("Saltytri"), met Michael Wolfe, Glenn Druery (over dinner my second night in Loudeac after his knee acted up), saw Tim W, and lots of the folks I met at Pactours brevet week.

Overall it was a very tough ride. Even w/ good weather this would be extremely taxing.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Better check the weather before you sign up!

Cheers,
Graeme

Think outside the double triangle.---------------------Music was better when ugly people were allowed to make it ....

I read one report saying one of the guys who completed actually rode 540km to get to the start (arrived the day before) and after completing the ride, rode the 540km home again. Big steel bearings on that fella.

Cheers,
Graeme

Think outside the double triangle.---------------------Music was better when ugly people were allowed to make it ....

Fantastic video. the fully faired bikes are interesting. general Audax rules state that even triathlon bars are disallowed, so how a fully faired 'bent is allowed is strange. I guess that the are just bundled into the "loony" catagory. In that kind of weather, I'm almost tempted to say "luxury".

Dave Larrington's PBP story should be enough to confirm that PBP riders are mad He DNF'ed after being afflicted with sleep deprivation induced hallucinations, falling over a lot, and declaring himself the Lord Mayor of Mortagne-au-Perche. This is all vaguely on topic as he was riding a 'bent, a HP Velotechnik SpeedMachine.

Here's one of a madman who rides off-road on a 'bent. I couldn't imagine doing it myself (I like hucking and climbing too much) but it looks like single track riding is indeed possible (even enjoyable?) on a recumbent.

Cheers,
Graeme

Think outside the double triangle.---------------------Music was better when ugly people were allowed to make it ....

Kalgrm wrote:Here's one of a madman who rides off-road on a 'bent. I couldn't imagine doing it myself (I like hucking and climbing too much) but it looks like single track riding is indeed possible (even enjoyable?) on a recumbent.

Well there must be a few people who want to do such a thing, otherwise there wouldn't be specialised offroad 'bents. Not clear to me that there's much advantage to using a 'bent for single track riding over a conventional MTB though (barring medical problems that rule out upright bikes). It's possible an offroad 'bent would be more comfortable for endurance type stuff, but there wouldn't be much of an aero advantage like with on-road 'bents.

I agree 100%. For me, the whole point of mountain biking is to hit the rocky, technical stuff, throwing the bike and yourself around, up and over anything in your way. It's not about comfort or aerodynamics but exertion and skill. That little jump he takes at the very end of the video would be enough to put me off his bike, but it looks like a hoot on the MTB.

That is why I labelled him a madman.

Cheers,
Graeme

Think outside the double triangle.---------------------Music was better when ugly people were allowed to make it ....

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